Compiled by Glenn Roadley, NatSCA Committee Member, Curator of Natural Science at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Welcome to the August edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.
A monthly blog series featuring the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences and training opportunities. We are really keen to hear more about museum re-openings, exhibition launches, virtual conferences and webinars, and new and interesting online content. If you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.
NatSCA Conference 2021: Environmental Breakdown and Natural Science Collections
In case you missed it, the NatSCA 2021 Conference: Environmental Breakdown and Natural Science Collections, which took place in May, is now freely available to view online, through our website or YouTube channel. This year’s conference focussed on how we can address global issues such as climate change and habitat loss with our collections, and featured some amazing talks and fascinating tours from across the sector. All talks, tours and Q&A sessions have captions available.
Where to Visit
Nottingham Natural History Museum at Wollaton Hall has reopened with a blockbuster exhibition – Titus: T. rex is King. Alongside plenty of dino-facts and fun hands-free interactives, the exhibition boasts the first real Tyrannosaurus rex to be displayed in England for over a century.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery are hosting Seedscapes: Future-Proofing Nature until September 5th. Seedscapes brings together five contemporary artists exploring global efforts to safeguard vital plant species from extinction. Plant diversity is rapidly declining, and faces threats from global warming, pollution and war.
There are plenty of family activities to get up to over the summer. You can make creepy crawly crafts at the Museum of Cannock Chase on August 12th or check out Hub in Sleaford on September 4th for Love Our Planet – family-friendly activities looking at ways to keep the planet safe and habitable.
What to Read
We’ve got two great new blogs to read – Bethany Palumbo summarises her experience attending the joint SPNHC / AIC virtual annual meeting in ‘A Supreme, Dream Team: The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Museums (SPNHC) Conference 2021’
Becky Desjardins writes about research into the presence of toxic pesticides used in taxidermy, and the implications for potential contamination and safety in ‘Size Matters: Pesticides in Large Mounted Vertebrate Specimens’.
The Geological Curators Group also has some great blogs to read. Lu Allington-Jones introduces a Epopast 400, a material for creating supports for heavy specimens and Matthew Porter highlights stories of excavations carried out by the Natural History Museum London at the site of Tendaguru, one of the world’s most important dinosaur sites.
Job Vacancies
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust are seeking a Manager and a Volunteer Coordinator for Birmingham’s Erratic Boulders: Heritage of the Ice Age Project.
Before You Go…
If you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.
Similarly, if you have something to say about a current topic, or perhaps you want to tell us what you’ve been working on, we welcome new blog articles so please drop Jen an email if you have anything you would like to submit.
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